Inside
by NenshiteREBORN
Summary: AU: Caterina is dying, and the AX is closing down. Father Nightroad's puzzling nightmares leads him to a stranger who can help what's left of the AX. But could her abilities destroy civilization instead of defending it? **Romance in later chapters**
1. Chapter 1

The night didn't feel the same as others, Abel mused. But then again, he always felt like the nights were strange, due to the fact that Caterina had been on bed rest for the past two weeks. No one was allowed to see her; only Sister Kate giving the AX members brief updates on her condition.

But Kate's glowing reports hid a somber reality that deeply disturbed the Crusnik. He knew Caterina better, and if his intuition was correct, she was gravely ill and didn't want to worry anyone, especially the one who saved her life so long ago.

The sound of distant thunder depressed him even more. His stomach churned, not with the familiar sensation of hunger, but from stress and anxiety. It was as if the devil himself was poking his heart with a pitchfork, taunting him with crippling fear.

His nightmares had been really bothering him lately. Every night he would dream he was in a lovely palace, full of expensive artwork and beautiful women... but the art would quickly decay, and the women would turn into skeleton zombies out to kill Abel. He would try to escape but roaches would swarm the place and eat him alive... in short, this had not been a good month for him.

Was Caterina really dying? Were his dreams revealing something horrible about to happen?

Knowing sleep was far from his reach, he decided to sneak a visit to his old friend to get his raging questions answered. Abel dressed and cracked open his bedroom door, checking carefully for night guards. Blending into the darkness, he was gone.

* * *

Two guards were stationed at her chamber doors, spears in hand ready to defend the Lady within. But what were two Terran guards compared to one vampire intruder? They would easily become mincemeat in seconds. But he knew, however, Gunslinger wasn't too far away from his mistress...

He startled the one on his left, who must've been dozing off. Abel smiled and adjusted his glasses, the feeble {small and feeble are similar in what they convey, I would recommend picking one or the other} light reflecting off his bottle-cap lenses.

"I would like to see Lady Caterina, if I may sir." He said disarmingly.

"I'm afraid you have to leave. No one is allowed to see Her Eminence. No one." He responded. To Abel's eyes, they seemed like competent thirty some year-olds, well-built and armored.

"I see. But I have an urgent message that requires her audience only."

"We were not informed of urgent messages, Father." The other one responded.

Abel wanted to knock their heads together, a la Three Stooges style, but knew his ass would be in Kate's frying pan if he did.

He slowly removed his glasses, allowing his piercing ice-blue eyes to lock on with their brown (or was it hazel?) ones'.

"I demand an audience with Her Eminence Caterina Sforza. If you do not let me in, I'm afraid I would have to resort to desperate measures. You don't want that now, do you?" Abel was in no mood for sweet-talking his way in; instead, he let the Crusnik tinge his eyes red.

For looking like 'competent 30 some year-olds', they looked quite unnerved at the sight of the Vatican's monster, for they knew all too well who this man standing before them was, and whom he worked for.

They stole a glance at each other, then moved aside for him to enter.

"This way, Father." Left said.

Abel closed his eyes, willing the Crusnik back to whence it came, and returned the glasses back to his face. "Thank you kindly."

A single candle from the bedside was the only source of light as Abel's sight adjusted to the darkness. With his advanced hearing, he could make out the slow breathing of the occupant in the king-sized bed a few feet away from him.

"Caterina?"

The soft rustle of sheets told him she was either awake or dreaming.

"Abel?"

He squinted and walked closer to see the her wide-awake reading a book. As he came closer to her, he noticed she looked abnormally pale, yet defiant of her mysterious condition.

Her lips made a small smile as she closed and placed the book on the nightstand. "So I see you've made it past my guards,"

"You should fire them. They're horrible." He quipped.

This time the thunder was louder, leaving the atmosphere in Caterina's chambers one of deep sadness. The Crusnik could see their reflection in her changing screen, outshone by the single candle. Perhaps it was a small signal of hope, he mused.

Caterina patted her hand next to her, motioning Abel to sit, of which he was happy to. "I know why you're here,"

He saw a glowing red dot coming from the darkness, one he knew too well. Lady Caterina wasn't alone, which soothed his uneasiness.

Abel placed his hand on her's and gently squeezed it reassuringly. "We're worried about you."

She coughed and wiped away some saliva from the corner of her mouth. "I've had Kate debrief you on my condition."

"It didn't sit well with me."

"I figured as much." She avoided eye contact, knowing his icy blue depths could read her soul; he knew her too well. "There are reasons why I can't tell AX just yet."

"And leave us in the dark?"

"You were never in the dark." Though her eyes were daunting and resolute, they still held a touch of softness in them whenever they held their talks alone. In Abel's eyes, she was still a little girl who needed saving. Not from outside threats or enemies, but from herself...

… her body was deteriorating.

"What happened? You need to tell me before..." The last half of the sentence stayed in his mind, leaving a bad taste in his mouth.

"Before I die?" She whispered sorrowfully.

Now it was Abel's turn to avoid her gaze. "I'm not trying to be negative,"

"I know." She lightly squeezed his hand in reassurance. "But it's not logical or realistic. If I had my head in the clouds, I wouldn't be the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs." She drew a heavy, burdened breath. "But Abel... I am dying."

Abel dared not move, nor breathe. A part of his soul shattered somewhere, landing where the broken pieces of Lilith lay. He knew Caterina was a mortal Terran, but even in Terran years she was too young to die.

He hated seeing people die.

"Caterina..." A small golden lock fell from its place behind her ear, causing Abel to reach over and gently brush it back with the back of his fingers.

Tears threatened to brim, but she fought them using her inner strength. "I'm not afraid of death, Abel. I'm afraid I didn't do enough to bring peace to our world, and to bring the Contra Mundi down."

Abel set his head down and drew a deep breath. "That is not your fault. It's mine and mine alone."

Caterina reached and lifted Abel's chin. "Don't you remember what I promised you? We fight with the same sword. Your fight is my fight."

His somber glacier depths said what his voice couldn't.

"She wouldn't want you to give up, and neither do I." Caterina whispered.

Abel sadly smiled and gently kissed her forehead, fighting back urgent tears.

"God rest your soul, Milady." He whispered.

"May God rest yours." She answered.


	2. Chapter 2

Kudos to anyone who can name me the song lyrics mentioned at the end of this chapter ;) Anyways I don't own TB or the SONG at the end... ;)

* * *

Chapter 2

"Aah, Abel have a seat!" A distinguished gentleman somewhere in his forties was pouring over documents that was strewn all over his desk, a pipe dangling from his lips. Normally the mess of papers would overwhelm the average human mind, but not this one.

Abel was moroose and silent today, unlike his normally goofy self. He made his way to a single chair with a small stack of papers resting on the padded seat. The sullen priest took the stack and was about to -

"Oh, you can put those over here. I need those next." William Walter Wordsworth gestured with pipe still in mouth. "And could you hand me that box over there?"

Abel obliged with an unseen smile, handing him a cardboard box noticing grades in red ink, along with small notes on the margins.

"How many papers are you grading?" Abel inquired, sitting in the now available chair.

"Finals," He said with a whimsical sigh. "All the knowledge my students have learned crammed onto a legion of dead trees. Some are excellent works of art while some... don't know what they're babbling about." His pipe was barely lit but William paid no attention. "So, what brings you to my corner of the world?"

Well, he was there. He was sitting. William was waiting. What words could he use? What was he going to say? _I visited Caterina last night and she confessed that she's dying... great way to start it, Nightroad._ Deathbed confession, quite literally. All he could do was sigh and feign a smile.

"You're worried about Her Eminence, I tell." Professor didn't even look up to see Abel's body language. He knew his bouts of misery quite well.

Abel drew his eyes downward, hiding his gaze behind the glare of his glasses. "What can we do to help her?"

William placed his pen back in the ink pot, and sat back lightly holding his pipe, small puffs rising to the ceiling. "We're all worried about her, Abel. But we have to trust her decisions, no matter how hard they may be."

And he was right. Lady Caterina had reasons to keep her affairs to herself... but she should know that she could trust William and Abel, at the very least.

But he still didn't know what was wrong with her. Was it an unknown illness? Cancer? Yes, that had to be it.

As if reading his thoughts, William leaned forward and took his pipe out a scant inch. "There's nothing we can do besides acting like nothing is wrong. You know Cardinal Francesco can't find out his half-sister is sick. God only knows what he would do! Probably declare her dead and take over her position. We can't breathe a word of this."

Abel visibly flinched when William mentioned the word 'dead'. He could've sworn he felt another piece of his heart drop into the blackness of his sinful soul. But he had to resign himself to the ugly truth – Francesco will take over Caterina's position, and will close down the AX. Since he had saved Caterina's life when she was a little girl, the AX and the Vatican was the only life he's ever known, besides the blood-filled carnage of the life he'd led 900 years ago.

 _Don't you remember what I promised you? We fight with the same sword. Your fight is my fight._

He had to keep going, no matter the cost. For Caterina, but more importantly, for Lilith's sake as well.

Abel had to shake the cobwebs from his mind to try to figure things out. "Professor, do you think she was poisoned?"

William took another puff. "That's a strong possibility, but without conclusive evidence. I'm afraid all we're left with is with her physician's notes and Sister Kate's briefings."

"But we don't have access to Caterina's medical notes." Abel pointed out.

"Precisely. Absolutely no one is allowed to access those without permission. Even I, a great man of knowledge needs permission from His Holiness himself,"

"William, are you thinking of stealing Cardinal Caterina's medical records?" A holographic woman materialized by the Professor's desk. Kate seemed ageless, though her body was elsewhere.

"It's not stealing if you acquire permission."

"It's against her wishes!"

William casually glanced to the beautiful blonde nun. "Do you actually know how Her Eminence is doing? Unless you can provide us with some evidence that she is recovering, well, I have no other choice than to appeal to His Holiness."

Abel could just see a vein bulging from Kate's forehead. "Absolutely not! You know very well that Caterina's condition can't be revealed to anyone, especially to the other cardinals!"

"And why is that, Kate?" William glanced at his pipe, his brows drawn upwards in interest. "I could simply ask for permission to access her files. You know I have a strong resume that proceeds me."

"I forbid it!"

With feigned resignation, William sighed and looked up at the hologram nun. "Oh I suppose. You win this time, Kate. We shall have a chat at a later time, hm? And while you're at it, could you make us a cup of tea? I've been quite thirsty grading the knowledge of my pupils and Abel needs his sugar fix."

"Actually, I was only staying for a few minutes. I should be going. I'll take a rain-check, professor." Abel stood up and adjusted his glasses.

"Alright Abel. I'll be seeing you around." William turned to Kate. "Now about that tea..."

* * *

Abel was exhausted that night. He was dreading the thought of more nightmares, but for the moment, he didn't care. His eyes were heavier than the thirteen lumps of sugar he liked in his tea... the sweet lure of sleep led him astray from his thoughts, all the world passed for now...

This time, it wasn't a nightmare... or was it? It felt so surreal and so familiar. Here he was standing on the edge of a steep cliff, with an unfolding ocean hundreds of feet down. The sky was a shade of ultramarine, the shade of Esther's eyes as stars started to show themselves, one by one.

There was music.

… _our floating pale-blue ark..._

 _...of endless forms most beautiful..._

It was a woman's voice, loud and clear but elegantly strong.

He turned around and saw tall redwoods, dominating the sky. Birds were singing, a squirrel quickly dashed out of sight, a deer lept away into the dark. But in the darkness... he could make out two glowing red eyes, ones he saw in the mirror everyday; and his blood ran cold.

… _endless forms most beautiful..._

* * *

I DON'T OWN NIGHTWISH. I wish I did , though.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

The dreams persisted every night, taking him to a different part of the forest with a different song and a different meaning. He found himself walking away from the cliff into the dense forest where he felt he belonged.

It was the soft strains of music that led him here. The voice he had heard on the cliff was now singing in French, light and refreshing and beckoning him to listen during the cool summer night.

 _Je remue le ciel le jour, la nuit  
Je danse avec le vent la pluie... _

He didn't know French, but who... whatever was singing this sweet song, it relaxed his soul to the point of sleep. But he was already asleep, in his bed, at the Vatican... how could this be? He laid his weary body down in the grass among the redwood forest guardians, gazing up at the joyful sun peeping through the canopy. The birds complimented her voice, twittering here and there. Time seemed to stay still in this place, wherever this place is.

 _Que d'espérance  
Sur ce chemin en ton absence  
J'ai beau trimer, sans toi ma vie n'est qu'un décor qui brille,  
Vide de sens..._

The nanomachines would have none of that. They hummed, whispered their despicable presence inside Abel's mind. _Get up. Get up. Get up. You must see us._

Abel shut his eyes closed. "No! Stop it!"

 _Get up. Get up. Get up._

 _"I won't!"_

 _Get up. Get up. You must see us._

Abel sat straight up, his heart racing faster than a machine-gun. " **STOP!** " He shouted violently, finally hushing the nanomachines. Suddenly, the music stopped; the birds stopped chirping. His voice echoed on for what felt like forever. Then he saw a silhouette, one he recognized but couldn't exactly put his finger on. Wings unfurled from the black shape, spiky and sharp thorns that resembled "feathers" framed the image.

Then, it hit Abel:

It was him.

* * *

It was the first time in three months he had been given a mission.

And with Leon, of all people! Hadn't Caterina known how he hated working with that man?

"Abel, you know Father de Watteau is missing, Tres is by Caterina's side and William weaseled his way out of it, leaving Leon the only other one available." Sister Kate had said to him. As he stood in Her Eminence's office, Abel mused on how he was usually paired with a cute, little red-haired nun named Sister Esther Blanchett, before she discovered she was the Crown Princess for the Kingdom of Albion. Now, she reigns as the rightful queen for her country. He was proud of her, but at times he would lie awake at night worried for her life. Emperors and other rulers would have many assassination attempts upon their lives, many not making them out alive if the terrorists were professional.

"Abel, are you with us?" Kate crossed her arms.

The silly Crusnik blinked rapidly to clear his vision of daydream nightmares. "Huh? I'm listening... I didn't get much sleep last night, so..."

"Well you really should pay attention. I could send Leon on his own, but Lady Caterina specifically asked for _you_ to do this one. But she doesn't want you going without a partner."

Seemed the usual. The other, ahem, _available_ agents were gifted enough to complete missions, but when it came down to it Abel was reserved for the nitty-gritty, nasty missions; ones that required him to get dismembered, shot, gutted, and spat upon by those that would laugh upon the idea of peace. He was used to it, but it still sucked.

"Yes Kate, I'm listening." Abel sighed, wiping his glasses on the hem of his cassock.

"As I was saying," She started, trying not to become flustered at the priest. "There have been reports of extremists in the Empire, near the border to Terra Incognita. Her Majesty the Empress has formally requested a joint investigation on the matter."

So Seth needed her big brother, eh? Perhaps seeing his sister would help clear his perspective on things right now.

"Yes Kate, I understand. When do I leave?"

" _You and Dandelion_ will leave as soon as he arrives. In the meantime- hold on..." Suddenly Kate stopped and stared at nothing, much like she did when she received new intel. This pause lasted for thirty seconds when she finally addressed him. "Wait for Dandelion then I will get back to you." Then, Sister Kate disappeared, leaving her voice lingering in Cardinal Caterina's office. "Can you do that for me, Abel?"

Abel suppressed his questions on her hasty retreat. "I suppose..." And there he was, alone again as he always has from the past three months. Well, he can't say _physically_ he's been alone but emotionally and mentally. But his gut was quarreling and growling... he had completely forgotten lunch! But oh what could he get for four dinars? With a sigh, he pulled his coin purse out and emptied the change into his palm. Perhaps he could beg someone for a sandwich, or something.

Knowing full well he was supposed to wait for Dandelion, he still left. There were worse punishments and besides, Sister Kate had better duties to attend too, keeping Father Wordsworth on his toes for instance.

With a small smile, Abel realized William kept himself on his own toes.

* * *

Okay so, the sandwich shop wasn't too keen on giving Abel a break. Great. So he had his usual, a cup of milk tea with thirteen lumps of sugar. It wasn't a sandwich, but it would keep him a little sane until he figured something else out.

 _Something is bothering you._

Abel stopped mid-sip, not really believing he had heard a voice... in his head.

 _Of course not,_ he thought to himself. Putting the teacup down, Abel patted the corners of his lips with a napkin.

 _Of course not, what? Crazy?_

There it was again. That voice, calm and feminine but playful at the same time. It sort of reminded him of Seth, but much more mature, as if she had aged into her thirties.

Was this crazy voice that of his sister? Had the nanomachines finally driven him insane?

 _So many questions. But all the best people I know are crazy._

Okay, this was scaring the shit out of him... now it _was_ sounding like Seth.

 _Who... what are you?_ He asked inside the depths of his mind, hoping this was another one of his crazy dreams, which were making less and less sense these days.

 _You don't want to know what I am. I am what I am._

Abel paused. This wasn't the nanomachines; they were murderous and demanding, whispering blasphemous nothings in his body. This voice... _was_ like his sister's, but it was so much more. His vampiric instincts felt something behind him... but there was a lot of people at this time of day, why would one person stand out?

He turned around in his chair to see a lone female sitting at another table, reading a book. Nothing peculiar about her, yet he knew she had something to do with this voice.

 _You know, it's impolite to stare._

Bingo; his Crusnik instincts never lied. The lady was seemingly minding her reading, her hair the same color as the espresso she was sipping.

 _Could you please stop reading my mind? It's impolite to read minds._

The girl smiled, her eyes never leaving the pages. _Touché, Father._ She pushed her black-framed glasses up the bridge of her nose and turned a page. _I can't help it. It's in me._

 _Don't you have some reading to concentrate on?_

 _Do you really think I cannot do both? Come now Father... don't be so naïve._

"Hey Four-Eyes, what the hell are you staring at?"

Abel turned to the source of that abrasive voice he knew well. Father Leon de Asturias invited himself to a seat, causing the table to rattle a bit. "See anyone pretty? If so, I want in on her first!"

"Dandelion!" Abel shushed him lowly, not in the mood for any of Leon's crap today.

"What? Were you looking at that chick next to you?" Leon motioned with his eyes at the young woman with her book. "She's kinda cute. I didn't know she was your type."

"Waaah! What?" Abel was blushing profusely, thinking of any, _any_ excuse as to why he was staring in her direction. No one would believe she was reading his mind! They'd lock him up and throw away the key!

 _Although that isn't a bad idea..._ He mused.

 _Don't say that._ The voice said.

"Stop that!" The silver-haired priest exclaimed, turning all sorts of colors between Leon's dirty mind and his invasion of mental privacy.

"Stop what? Abel, it's okay to admit-"

"It's not that!" Abel slammed his head against the table, rattling his empty teacup. "Ugggghhhh, Lord, why does this happen to me?"

Leon sighed in annoyance and crossed his arms. "Kate was a fool to say you needed a partner. She should've sent me alone instead! I would get the job done without your bitching and whining!"

 _Screw it. I'm done. I'm gonna become a farmer and raise cows._ Abel groaned mentally.

 _I like cows. Cows are awesome._

 _UGGGGGHHHHHH STOP IT._

Abel stood up and sighed in resignation. "Would you excuse me, Leon? I will be right back. I have something... to take care of." And off he went into the crowd, leaving Leon puzzled and scratching his head.

The young lady glanced up over her glasses with a small smile, watching Abel's tall frame disappear into the sheeple. Reading the lecherous priest's gaze undress her, she took a sip of her espresso.

 _Not today, pal._


End file.
